The Lord used a wayward prophet’s donkey to speak and get his attention. Recently, the Lord used some fictitious underwater sea creatures to get mine.

In the previous message, we laid some spiritual ground work to help you understand that deep rooted lies are the seed of the pain and fears we face. To recap, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). If knowing the truth sets you free, then believing a lie will keep you from being free.

When presented with such “simple” truths, we may ask ourself: When did I agree with a lie? I would not have done that. Why would I agree with a lie? It sure seemed like the truth.

Our primary battle occurs in our thought life. What I believe to be true about God, others, and myself, shape my interpretation of life’s events, and the meaning I assign to them. My thought life is the battleground. Do my thoughts obey and represent Christ in me?

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 states it like this: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”.

When I take a thought captive to obey, I must recognize the source from which it originated. Whom was it born from? Was it truth that originates with Jesus and what he is speaking to me through his Spirit, or is it a lie from the father of lies?

Thoughts are always drifting through our minds at any given moment. Thoughts that come from a bad experience are often used by the enemy to create lies in our minds. Whether it’s a subtle word spoken in anger or maybe something more traumatic, truths and lies will swirl around in our thoughts seeking a place to land, giving me the opportunity to interpret God, others, myself and the meaning of that experience. It is at those times that I am most vulnerable to agree with the lies.

As I was learning to recognize the lies in my life, an example of the battle for my mind was discovered one day while watching cartoons with my children. Yes, a spiritual truth was shown to me by an “absorbent and yellow and porous” sea sponge named Spongebob Squarepants.

In this video clip, the “truths” that Spongebob and his friend Patrick are passing to each other through “bubbles” are meant for each other. Just as the Spirit speaks to me, telling me my Father’s purposes and plans for me as shown through Jesus, so these two friends were speaking to each other. But there is another voice. Squidward, intercepts the friendly messages and substitutes his “lies” to change Spongebob and Patrick’s perception of each other and even their friendship. I too have another voice and source of thoughts, which drift through my mind. He has lies to bind me into traps and painful ways of thinking about God, others, and myself. And, these lies always sound like my own voice.

I want to encourage you this week to start asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the sources of your thoughts. Jesus told us that the Spirit would guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Ask him to show you if there are any lies at work in your life that may be causing you fear or pain. Ask him to show you any ungodly agreements you may have made.

Prayer: “Holy Spirit, teach me to recognize the lies that present themselves as truth. Give me understanding of the source of the thoughts that drift through my mind. Give me strength in the battle for my mind to bring thoughts to obedience by agreeing with truth and not lies.”

Those who battle anxiety and fear know the onslaught of thoughts that can spin wildly out of control. The cycle of “what if’s” seems to take over your mind, igniting total panic and helpless feelings of being out of control.

It starts with a thought that comes out of nowhere. All of sudden, your mind is finding ways to fend off this unwanted intruder. “What can I do to stop this?” “What will happen if this comes true?” “How can I get out of this situation?” On and on, the cycle spins faster.

In his book, “The Three Battlegrounds”, Francis Frangipane talks about one battleground in particular–the battleground of the mind. The enemy whispers doubts into our mind, and all of sudden, we are fully engaged in a fierce, mental war. At times, we feel like we are fighting for our own sanity.

The Bible is very aware of this psychological struggle. We are constantly reminded to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). But how do we do that?

Colossians 3:1 says this: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Set your mind of on things above–heavenly things, things like the love of God, his promises over you, your right standing with him, his mercy, his faithfulness, his grace, and much, much more. Renew your mind as it says in Romans 12:1-2. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world. Sometimes it’s just too easy to turn on the television and escape into someone else’s reality. But in doing that, you feed the anxiety and insecurity, fueling the fear. Why? Because you are setting your mind on earthly things, not heavenly things.

Philippians 4:8 says this: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” This is a Biblical list of things to think about–to meditate on. Write down some noble and pure things. For example, take a story from the Bible and make a mental movie that you can playback in your mind when those dreaded thoughts try to enter in.

And finally, use the word of God to defeat those debilitating thoughts. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus responded with scripture. Satan said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3). Jesus didn’t start the cycle of “what if’s”. Immediately Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'” (verse 4). He did this each and every time the enemy came against him.

This week, I encourage you to “quench the fiery darts of the enemy” (Ephesians 6:16) by learning to take your thoughts captive. Submit them to the word of God and respond as Jesus responded: “It is written…” Faith will rise up in your heart, and your will be victorious in this battleground of the mind, for “a mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6)

Prayer: Father, help me to take these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Help me to recognize the attack of the enemy, and not give in to the cycle of “what if’s”. I put my trust in you.

My book, Season of Grace shares my journey from crippling panic attacks to a life of freedom. I share many of the practical, emotional and spiritual steps I took. You can order it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About

For most of my life, I battled crippling anxiety and panic attacks. For the longest time, I had no hope. My world was closing in all around me. Today, I am free and living a life full of peace and abundance. Freedom is real. You can be totally set free for the bondage of fear. [Read my story]